PhilNZ is right. You guys that have never had to sort out a cheater must have had tmo's, cameras, and professional touch judges mic'ed up to the ref your whole careers.

If a guy is continually cheating by illegally slowing down the ball, holding jerseys, or being offsides then yes, he deserves something like a punch. He is the one being negative and not allowing everyone else to play rugby.

Holding jerseys is worse an offense than punching a guy that is cheating. To disagree with Max above, up until recently refs absolutely allowed a self-policing thing to go on.

2nd impact syndrome is a real thing, so is CTE. As a youth referee we spend a lot of time on concussion management. I can't believe this stuff still happens at this level. I send kids off all the time for concussions and follow up with the coaches and parents. They're out for the next two weeks automatically.

Between the ref, the touch judges, the medical team, the coaches upstairs in the box, his teammates or opposition SOMEBODY saw what happened and they didn't think to step in.

When you see a guy get knocked out, tell the ref. If you are a ref and a player has been concussed get him out immediately and follow up after the game.

Compared to the past some things are better some are worse. Very different skill sets are required today (especially in the fwds) compared to the game even 20 years ago.

In the past we didn't have players diving or players holding up their hands in dismay constantly at every breakdown trying to get a call. The players even at the highest level had accomplished professional careers and personal lives. Yes there was usually at least one psycho in every club, but it takes all kinds.

I don't think it is as fun to be a rugby player today as it has been in the past, it is however much more lucrative.

The game is a better spectacle for fans now and is a business with a lot of people earning a livelihood. In the past it was for the fun of the players, pride, and not too much else. You missed out.